John Gorka

(1)
Take this as a warning
To stay away from me
Because the man that you used to know
Is not the man that you're going to see
Someday we may laugh at this
Someday we may be friends
But for now you can keep your distance
Stay away till the pieces mend

(2)
This sudden lonliness has made me dangerous
Please don't watch me while I fall apart
'Cause I'm sad and I'm angry
And armed with a broken heart

(3)
And what will get me through the night
Is what I'll use with all my might
And to some peace I have a right
But I pay so dearly

And at my age I should be wise
Now I'm untying all those ties
The evidence is in the eyes
That should see so clearly
I once saw so clearly

(4)
You know I will say anything
If it will keep you away
But I don't know what I would do
If you said you were gonna stay
Don't do me any favors
Don't try to ease the pain
Won't you please let me hate you now
So I won't fall for you again

(Repeat 3, then 2)

I saw a stranger with your hair
Tried to make her give it back
So I could send it off to you
Maybe Federal Express
'cause I'd know you'd miss it

I saw another with your eyes
Flash just turned my head
I went to try them on for size
They looked the other way
They wouldn't miss 'em

CHORUS
But you're never hard to find in a crowd
People around you smiling out loud
Your feet don't touch the ground
No, your feet don't touch the ground
Your feet don't touch the ground

I heard a stranger with your voice
It took me by suprise
Again I found it wasn't you
Just an angel in disguise
In for a visit

By the way, how is my heart? I haven't seen it since you left
I'm almost sure it followed you
Would you sometime send it back?

(CHORUS)

I saw a stranger with your hair
I saw another with your eyes
I heard an angel with your voice

I couldn't bribe a wino on what I used to make
My Fortune was as sure as the wind
But I was free to wonder and time was on my hands
It was mine to burn and to bend

Chorus:
Freedom for freedom
Call that an even scheme
Give me time to wonder and to dream
I'll take the money
They'll take the time
Down to the land of the bottom line
To the bottom line

Then there came a chance to make some steady dough
Bouncing up my alley to the door
You fill your clothes with keys and damned responsibilites
Trading the maybe for the sure

(Chorus)

All I ever wanted was to be a kid and play
Fighting every change along the way
I don't like work, but I don't like waste
And I don't like waiting for a taste

(Chorus)>

I didn't know where to look for you last night
I didn't know where to find you
I didn't know how I could touch that light
That's always gathering behind you

I didn't know that I would find a way
To find you in the morning
But love can pull you out of yesterday
As it takes you without warning

I want to be a long time friend to you
I want to be a long time known
Not one of your memory's used-to-bes
A summer's fading song

Chorus: It's from me, it's to you
For your eyes
It's a weight, a wonder that is wise
I am here, you are there
Love is our cross to bear

I know I'll think of us upon that hill
With the golden moon arising
And the stars will fall around us still
While the love is realizing

And so it is until we meet again
And I throw my arms around you
You can count the gray hairs in my head
I'll still be thankful that I found you

I lost my car to the Riverside Drive
Last seen heading up the upper west side
One thirty eighth street one thirty nine
What's yours is theirs, what's theirs was mine
Now it's gone for parts, it's gone for fun
It's gone for sure as any one
No, they're not polite, they don't say please
With the cover of night, they never use keys.

Now there's a stranger in my driver's seat
Broken glass around his feet
The radio will change it's tune
Removed beneath a New York moon

The precinct has an icy clerk
Her hand fills out the paper
But the cops don't look for stolen cars
You can wish upon a star

It happens every now and then
People see their cars again
Some are found on cinder blocks
With open trunks and busted locks

They say in this town nothing sleeps
That goes for thieves and chimney sweeps
The smart ones say to keep your ride
Park it on the Jersey side

Now there's a stranger in my driver's seat
Broken glass around his feet
The radio will change it's tune
Removed beneath a New York moon

I lost my car to the Riverside Drive
Last seen heading up the Upper West Side
One thirty eighth street one thirty nine
What's yours is theirs, what's theirs was mine
Manhattan nights are full of rats
Republican and democrats
Most of them have learned the rules
The rest of us just go to school

Now there's a stranger in my driver's seat
There's broken glass around his feet
The radio will change it's tune
Removed beneath a New York moon

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
Bad at savings bonds
Fashion magazines
I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams

I am good at night
I am good at night
Sun don't fit me right
I tried with all my might
I am good at night
I am good at night

I am good at stars
I am good at skies
Not like other guys
I am good at skies
I could close my eyes
I could be your size
I would still be good at skies

I am good at wind
I am good at stone
I am good at rain
Good at all alone
I am good at you
I am good at home

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
Bad at savings bonds
Fashion magazines
I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams

I am good at night
I am good at night
Sun don't fit me right
I tried with all my might
I am good at night
I am good at night

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
I am good at night
I am good at night

They're growing houses in the fields between the towns
And the Starlight drive-in movie's closing down
The road is gone to the way it was before
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore

Two more farms were broken by the drought
First the Wagners now the Fullers pulling out
Developers paid better than the corn
But this was not the place where they were born

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

At first he wouldn't sell and then he would
Now they'll be children playing where the silo stood
The word came from the marrow of his bones
It was the last sure way to pay off all the loans

The new streets will be named for kings and queens
And a ransom will be payed for every castle's dream
The model sign is crested with a lion
And the farmers they will have enough to die on

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

I guess no one should be afraid of change
But tell me why is there a fence for every open range
It's a sign I'm getting on in years
When nothing new is welcome to these eyes and ears

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

They're growing houses in te fields between the towns
And the Starlight drive-in movie's closing down
The road is gone to the way it was before
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore

I'm from New Jersey, I don't expect too much
If the world ended today, I would adjust.

I'm from New Jersey, no I don't talk that way
I watched too much TV when I was young

I'm from New Jersey, my mom's Italian
I've read those mafia books, we don't belong.

Girls from New Jersey who have that great big hair
They're found in shopping malls, I will take you there

I'm from New Jersey, it's not like Texas
There is no mystery, I can't pretend
I'm from New Jersey, it's like Ohio,
But even more so, imagine that

I know which exit, and where I'm bound,
Tolls on the parkway they will slow you down.

New Jersey people, they will surprise you
'Cause they're not expected to do too much
They will try harder, they may go further,
'Cause they never think that they are good enough

I'm from New Jersey, I don't expect too much
If the world ended today I would adjust

I would adjust;
I would adjust

Jack's crows are loud in the morning
They're critical of other birds
Farmers don't appreciate 'em
Though they don't say it in so many words

Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows have a bad reputation
Some of them are known as thieves
They're involved in strange celebrations
And magic on All Hallow's Eve

Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows are all very ancient
No relation to the crows of Jim
Jim was driven to the shadows
But now you're seeing more of him

With Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows are in for a murder
A murder is a gathering
Some watch some go a little further
Some eat what the others bring

To Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Night is a woman who embraces me
I am never lonely in her arms
Deep in her heart I am free from harm
The moon and the stars are her ancient charms
She gives to me the gift of less to see
Night is a woman who embraces me

I know that she is stronger than the winter sun
She brings me to the places I am warm
She's on me like a blanket or a thunderstorm
And she waits for me when I am forlorn
Although she is much older we have just begun
I know that she is stronger than the winter sun

Night is a woman who embraces me
Her hair is dark and thick and it will tumble down
She dresses up her shadows in a flowing gown
And she's always welcome wen she hits this town
She is always everything she wants to be
Night is a woman who embraces me

Night is a woman who embraces me
She will reach me late and take my hand
Lead me to my dreams and back again
Then she'll run like a shiver from the land
She gives to me the gift of less to see
Night is a woman who embraces me

Night is a woman who embraces me

My father met Eleanor Roosevelt
In 1939
The war at last was over then
And they were still alive

Her husband was the president
Til he ran out of time
Her Fraklin D. was history
And they'd put him on the dime

My father joined the leaernecks
To stay out of the mines
The new marine was just fifteen
In 1939

There were medals and malaria
The South Pasific War
Through jungles that were paradise
And were paradise no more

Chorus
Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi, fe fo fum
Look out peacetime, here we come

Some of the men who did survive
Were not the lucky ones
War is only good for those
Who make and sell the guns

My father lay recovering
The hurt was all inside
Sometimes the wounds that never heal
Are easiest to hide

When Eleanor came bearing gifts
To San Francisco Bay
She gave my dad a blanket
In the hospital that day

That blanket meant a lot to him
My mother has it still
Some forget the kindnesses
That others never will

Chorus
Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi, fe fo fum
Look out peacetime, here we come

I met her in the summertime
When her arms
Were the color of silence
So blue her eyes
A new horizon

And I walked that way
And I talked that way too
And I found my way through
To her silence
Whoa
To her silence

My heart was full of bitterness
So dark and so close to violence
The ace of spades
Turned upside down

Nothing beat in my hopeless chest
I could not detect a sound
But she would not let me rest
Bound to my silence
Whoa
Bound to my silence

Love came unexpectedly
Late to the bill
An added attraction
The way it goes
The way it stays

And when she is far away
Still I feel her here
Every since she made the day
And the lonely man disappear
Into that silence
Whoa
Into that silence

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
I heard the whistle
And the mercy of the wheels
It's a hand to mouth existence
In a mouth to nothing world
I was longing
For the way I used to feel

I'd like to catch a train
That could go back in time
That could make a lot of stops
Along the way
I would go to see me Father
With the eyes he left behind
I would go for all the words
I'd like to say
And I'd take along a sandwich
And a picture of my girl
And show them all
That I made out ok

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
And I wondered if I
Should have gotten on
Cause a train knows where it's going
And when it's time to go
And that it looks best
When it's already gone

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of a dream
And I wandered through the weeds
As it went by
Oh the trains they have the numbers
The nicknames and the nights
They know it's ok
To run away and cry

I'd like to catch a train
That could go back in time
That could make a lot of stops
Along the way
I would go to see me Father
With the eyes he left behind
I would go for all the words
I'd like to say
And I'd take along a sandwich
And a picture of my girl
And show them all
That I made out ok

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
I heard the whistle
And the mercy of the wheels

Love is never easy
It's almost always out of your way
It's not the path of least resistance
It's not some words you get to say

It's a stream running up the mountain
It's a wave rolling out from the shore
I wish I could say I never
Felt that way before

I have a friend who's lonely
She is chasing after her dreams
And she is the one and only
One who knows how hard it will be

There's treasure on her island
Buried in this city of news
I wish I could say we didn't
Have that much to lose

One friend tried to end it
He could not see the good in his life
In his mirror or his pocket
And his hopes had come down life a knife

There's treasure on his island
Buried in this city of dues
I wish I could say we didn't
Have that much to lose

Love is never easy
It's almost always out of your way
It's not the path of least resistance
It's not some words you get to say

I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back for more
I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back

I live where the neighbors yell
And their music comes up through the floor
I live where the neighbors yell
And their music wakes me up

Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious as Basketball
Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious

Four blocks from the steel mill blast
I paint my claim up on the wall
Four blocks from the steel mill blast
I paint my claim

From my end of the southside drag
Its a common thought to call the cops
Further west its been gentrified
They turned biker bars into flower shops

I kind of miss those Harley guys
How rarely did a body harm
They mostly liked to drink and shout
And flash the pictures on their arms

It happens wen the money comes
The wild and poor get pushed aside
It happens wen the money comes
The poor get pushed

The buyers come from somewhere else
They raise the rent so you can't hide
The buyers come from out of state
And they raise the rent

Buy low, sell high
You get rich and you still die
Money talks, people jump
Ask how high low life Donald what's his names
And who cares?
I don't wanna know what his girlfriend doesn't wear
Its a shame that the people at work
Wanna hear about this kind of jerk

These people aren't saints
No, people just are
They wanna feel like they count
They wanna ride in their own car

These people aren't saints
No, people just are
They wanna feel like they count
They wanna ride in their own car

I just want to make enough
To buy this town and keep it rough
I just want to make enough
To buy this town

Buy low, sell high
You get rich and you still die
Money talks, people jump
Ask how high low life Donald what's his names

I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back for more
I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back

I live where the neighbors yell
And their music comes up through the floor
I live where the neighbors yell
And their music wakes me up

Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious as Basketball
Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious


I walk,I live, My life, I hide

Where the bottles break
By the playground fence
Where the neighbors yell
Where they raise our rents

Where the bottles break
By the playground fence
By the steel mill blast
Where they raise our rents

She had a reconstructed face
And he had no lips to speak of
There was no feature out of place
And no recipe for sweet love
From an Indiana Dodge
To an Airstream by the parkway
In the silver they would lodge
And as for love they hit it sharply

He was the type to look for work
Although not the kind to find it
She was an office temp and clerk
He didn't have to be reminded...
But he minded

He was a writer in his dreams
He sent his thoughts to magazines
He'd get them back without a check
What do bohemians expect?

He started hanging out with those
Collectively misunderstood
Their only thought was how to pose
And as their failure he was something good...

She roomed and boarded him for years
She was supported in her fears
She was a ruby in his shoe
His neck was red enough for two

She had dreams all of her own
She'd tell him that soon on the phone
She wasn't ever coming back
She was never bored she would give him that
He came home drunk out of his head
Except she wasn't there to steer
He needed her to find the bed
She left the Airstream running clear

She had a reconstructed life
With no regrets to speak of
Seems she was not the docile type
Without a recipe for sweet love

She had a reconstructed fate

So I wonder how she's doing
I hate it when the rumors fly
They give off such a strange sense of mission
Wing your helplessness on high

But she would never run from strangers
She sang alone like a bell will toll
Way above the clang and the clatter
Out of fear of her demon soul

Maybe none of this is my business
And none of what I hear is true
I am far from the mint condition
Circulation's hard on you

Chorus:
Hold tight, hang tough
Love's not enough
To keep you off that stuff
To save you...(2X)...to save you now

He could always find the holes in the bottles
Even with a blindfold on
Never kept his seat on the wagon
Rolling off like a rolling stone

Blue chalk between his fingers
Hustling a poolroom song
He always kept a line for the singer
Pointing his cue right from wrong

Chorus

Repeat first verse

I pay my bills to the time collectors
They're getting more from me each day
I pay them off a few words at a time
But the spur's gone from the moment
And the moment's slipped away
I used to feel like something here was mine
Now I pay them off a few words at a time

I reach into my pocket just so I can make some change
And I find more hands than I can ever shake
And I hope you will forgive me if I don't return your call
But there's someone watching every move I make
And I've got more hands than I could ever shake

Chorus
I'm running for my life here out on the campaign trail
And the crowds will not forgive me if I lose
And I'd like to think I'm special but I do know otherwise
Excuse me but I need to make the news
'Cause the crowds will not forgive me if I lose

I'm really not complaining won't you say your name again
I'm sorry but that isn't what I mean
There's a prison called tomorrow and there's one called yesterday
The only place your free is in between
Oh I'm sorry but that isn't what I mean

Chorus

She looks best moving
Or standing still
I can't make up my mind
I guess I always will

Last Saturday night
Went out of my head
Or I stayed right here at home
And went right to bed

I slept like a baby
Or I was up all night
Thought I was gonna die
No I felt alright

Chorus

I can't make up my mind (3X)
I can't make up my mind (3X)
This time

I have a lot of trouble
With my boss at work
Yeah I'm still self-employed
I'd better wipe that smirk

Life is a pair of ducks
Who are heading south
She cannot fit my name
Inside her mouth

Chorus

I can't make up my mind (3X)
I can't make up her mind (3X)
This time

She looks best moving
Or standing still
I cannot make her mine
I guess I always will

It's fear of commitment
Commitment to fear
Courage means nothing
If you stand right here

I sure hate to listen
Talking to myself
No I'm not sick this time
I'm just bored of health, no

Chorus

I can't make up my mind (3X)
I can't make up your mind (3X)
This time

My name is Edgar
And I am a party man
I come from a party town
I come in my party van

I bet I could make you laugh
Hey would you like a beer
I got some in the chest outside
It's a little warm in here

Where are you going now
Oh I guess she heard that one
She should tell by my goodtime grin
That I can be a lot of fun

Now I'm almost 46
And I used to have a wife
But that was nearly 15 years ago
Now she's got another life

Oh she had a real strong way
I met her on a moving bus
We got off at different stops
And that was just the start of us

Now I never get too deep
That's the way it always seems
And I need a lot of sleep
Because I have a lot of dreams

Oh I still believe in love
'Specially when it's bright and new
Although I never stick around
Because I need some time for them
And some time for you

Yeah I've got a need to roam
Oh I've got a restless streak
I've got a whole world inside of me
No one ever gets a peek
My name is Edgar...

Smokey the bear said only you can...
Lightning said Smokey that's not true
Though sometimes I can't help myself
You know I strike at will, it's nothing personal

Chorus

I'm just trying to get close enough
To see the face of love
To be in the face of love

One combination still impresses
Women, wind and summer dresses
Meet me underneath that hollow tree
I hope you don't mind if thunder follows me

Chorus

There's Franklin's kite and Franklin's key
And Frankenstein they owe a debt to me
I've lit them up I've knocked them down
I've put them early underground

Chorus

There are bolts for them out of the blue
Volts for us we'll hit the heights for you
I come by cloud, I come by storm
When the pressure drops, when cool meets warm

Chorus

One combination still impresses
Women, wind and summer dresses
Meet me underneath that hollow tree
Hope you don't mind if thunder follows me

Lightning's blues (3X)

My invisible gun
You won't find my fingerprints
On my invisible gun
Though you may recall the incident
In which I held up the sun

With my invisible gun
It does those magic bullet tricks
My invisible gun
No flash or sound like a trigger click
No you just see the damage done
With my invisible gun

My invisible gun
You might say it's my new best friend
My invisible gun
A pocket full of unhappy ends
Watch them dance and run
From my invisible gun

My invisible gun
Fits like smoke in those funky joints
My invisible gun
You're all shot through with your hollow points
Now I never wait for fun
With my invisible gun

These birds don't sing in the rain
They're waiting for the sun to shine
But I'm a man and a man-made thing
And I can sing out anytime

I can sing in the trees
I'll sing before the rivers rise
Maybe make you believe
That we were part of paradise
And could be part of paradise
'Cause we were part of paradise, once

I don't have any wings
But there are nights when I can fly
And I'll give you all my rings
Like I'm the oldest tree alive

But I can't stand like a tree
And you can cut me down to size
Even make me believe
That we were part of paradise
And could be part of paradise
'Cause we were part of paradise, once

Nothing ever gets lost
Just the pieces move around
I can't figure out the cost
I know that it will even out

Without feather or branch
Love brings you closer to the skies
It can give you back the chance
To be where it was paradise
To see a part of paradise
To be a part of paradise, once

I wish that you could live forever
And that I could be there too
And that there'd be generations
To look after me and you

But I know that isn't likely
So I guess I'll say it now
That I'll love you past the boundaries
That time and breath allow

You were my first memory
We were playing in the grass
Like the colors of your apron
Love was colored in to last

Chorus

And I'm glad the light still hits your face
And I'm glad every time you answer the phone
For you life and home have never been an easy place
And I'm glad to be part of your own You were the foundation
That we built my life upon
First with Dad and Cass and Mary
Then one was sick and one was gone People only get one family
And a lot of them are rough
I'm glad the one I got was one
That wasn't hard to love I hope I have your toughness
Along with your will to be kind
And know as I am one of yours
That you are one of mine

Chorus

I heard he was scraping dixie
Looking for a job
Looking for some work to get him by
Steering clear of all the jails
He was skinny as a rail
And his face would hardly move from day to day
His face would hardly move from day to day

Chorus:
Don't you set your mouth on me
Don't you set your mouth on me
Don't you set your mouth and jump salty as the sea
Even though she was the one
Even so I'll overcome
Don't you set your mouth on me like I belonged

He learned to cook short order
Was a pour man in a bar
And a bubble dancer till his face got steamed
And I know that he was bugged
Dishing out those slops and slugs
He said that grease got all up in his dreams

Bridge:
A VFW from somewhere
With the 1000 yard stare
The VA kept him hanging on a line
His disability was pending
I'd get these scribes that he was sending
He'd be scraping by till the weather warmed this way
Scraping dixie till the weather warmed this way

He said he'd be scraping dixie
Maybe Carolina way
Looking for some cash to pass him through
Well what you gonna do
We all have to line the flue
But I'll fight untill they put that tree suit on
I'll be fighting till they put that tree suit on

Chorus

It's half price off on last year's models
There's a geeseful sky and roads of potholes
The town is lean and getting leaner
There is a rank and file demeanor
Countless souls in unkind places
Wearing fixed and angry faces
I tell myself I don't belong
But I am a ghost in this prayer gone wrong...

There's a new restaurant and a new coffee shop
It seems this street is looking up
The new sign says there's "No Smoking"
"No Shirt, No Service" and "Spanish Spoken"

This town was built by steel blue collars
It now competes for the tourist dollars
Love may make the world go round
But like gravity here we're still money bound...

There's talk show hosts and wartime markers
Ways of thinking that force the darkness
Bus stations have sad reputations
Coin laundry pawnshop conversations
Each time this year I hit this mood
It's cabin fever or the mortal groove
Before the spring before winter's done
When something's lost or just hasn't come...

I once said I knew
But I don't know no more
What once was strong and true
Is now just stiff and sore
Maybe it's a phase I'm going through
Still I'd like to face this phase with you

Chorus

If there's love in your heart
At least you've got one way to feel alive
If there's love in your heart
Then I count two good reasons to survive

When true love isn't perfect
Still it's kind to you
It may not be the kind of love
That sees you through
It could seize you in the middle of a night
Squeeze you when you hold somebody tight

Chorus

Bridge:
She said the roughest is the middle place
You don't know where you stand
Only you've got no grace
You've got no grace(2X)

If you cannot undo it then the knot is tied
If love can't be your lover it can be your guide
But you need to pay attention to the signs
You do not need to stay between the lines

Chorus